We are ringing in the New Year with a ton of new content, so keep checking back in to Icicle.tv for new stories, photos, and videos. Our production team is working hard to fill our pipeline with high quality content about the Wenatchee Valley and we also look forward to posting user generated content, so send your stories and videos our way!
The video is our first reader submitted piece, posted by Leavenworth local Armond DuBuque.
We are ringing in the New Year with a ton of new content, so keep checking back in to Icicle.tv for new stories, photos, and videos. Our production team is working hard to fill our pipeline with high quality content about the Wenatchee Valley and we also look forward to posting user generated content, so send your stories and videos our way!
The video is our first reader submitted piece, posted by Leavenworth local Armond DuBuque.
Armond has been enjoying the Leavenworth area since 1990. “I was mainly was a rock climber and skier. Getting into windsurfing led to snow kiting and kiteboarding, that led to speedflying and paragliding. The Leavenworth area is incredibly beautiful even if you don’t fly, but as a paraglider it’s mind blowing!”
Speed flying combines the sports of paragliding and skiing. In Armond’s words, ” it’s another way to enjoy the beauty of the the mountains with a perspective that’s hard to beat. It’s like skiing powder that is thousands of feet deep and invisible!” Paragliding and speedflying differ in that paragliding wings (20 to 28 square meters) are larger than speedwings (6 to 16 square meters). Paragliders get a very good glide ratio and are used to soar in spring and summer thermals and actually gain elevation allowing the possibilities of cross country flight. Speedwings, on the other hand, get a bad glide ratio fly much faster and are made for flying close to terrain down mountainsides.
While we probably don’t need to warn you of the inherent dangers of speed flying, we’re going to anyway. Please don’t try this at home. Speed flying requires years of experience and professional instruction and can be extremely dangerous even for the most experienced of pilots. Do however; enjoy the amazing views of our backyard mountains as Armond and Lori Sanwald enjoy the art of flight. For those of you interested in learning how to do this safely, we recommend you contact Aerial Paragliding out of Cashmere.
